


A Long-Overdue Visit

by RhiaDalish



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Childhood Stories, F/M, Family, Family Reunion, Fluff, Gen, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 04:58:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5193170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhiaDalish/pseuds/RhiaDalish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inquisitor Vex Lavellan accompanies her new husband Cullen to finally meet his siblings and come to terms with being part of a family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Long-Overdue Visit

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is the First Prize winner for my tumblr giveaway! A illustration of the winner's choosing will be included once it is completed.

Vex squinted against the setting sun, trying to locate the homestead in the distance. The breeze was cool and felt good upon her skin after walking under a cloudless sky for most of the day. The wheat fields on either side of the dirt road made golden waves as far as she could see in either direction; it was all she could see. A shimmering, endless ocean of the gilded color she so coveted in her husband’s eyes.

Husband. It still sounded so foreign to her. The word itself _was_ foreign to the Dalish, but the tradition of a life mate was not. It was downright common and encouraged since her people still saw themselves as a dying breed. In fact, her clan had had two bonding ceremonies a week before her fateful deployment to the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Yet this time it was different because _she_ was a part of the tradition. She was on the inside. She was his wife, he was her husband…

Cullen had been talking, but everything he had said had been carried away on the breeze. The barking mabari, the distracting lack of the house she was supposed to be seeing, and the habit that he had picked up of talking when facing away from her were all the culprit. It was endearing, the unintentional social fumbles that Cullen would make simply because he would get swept up in excitement or some other passion. Some of the more cynical and ill-married women at Skyhold would warn her that the fondness would wear off, but what did they know.

Her and Cullen’s wedding was more than three months past, but she still got that fluttering feeling in her stomach when Cullen would take her hand and introduce her to his colleagues as “Lady Inquisitor Avexan Lavellan, my wife.” He would always kiss her hand after the introduction, no matter what. Vex would always blush and try to hide her face, feeling like a courtesan at her first ball being asked to dance by the most gorgeous partygoer in attendance.

Sometimes, when he would speak about her to others, Vex would hear the slightest catch in his voice. It was so miniscule, so indistinguishable from his normal cadence of speak that only someone with an ear trained and enamored of his voice would be skilled enough to pluck that tiny speck of emotion from a hazy sea of sound. That speck, small as it was, was a universe. A swelling, expansive force of love and devotion that engulfed her like hungry fire whenever those amber colored eyes met hers.

“Vex?” Cullen’s warm hand pressed to the small of her back. “Are you all right, love?”

“Yes, sorry. Lost in thought.”

He chuckled as he rubbed the gray and white mabari’s large, square head. Cullen had given the dog a name, but he always ended up calling him Pup instead. _How very Ferelden_ , Vex would think to herself with an adoring grin whenever Cullen called the hound. The dog rolled on its back, happy to receive a good belly rub.

“Are you nervous?”

Vex laughed, her eyes sliding downward to her dusty boots. Admittedly, she was a little nervous. Ancient magisters, dragons, darkspawn – not a blink. But this was something else entirely. This was Cullen’s family. Technically, they were _her_ family now as well.

Her family.

That thought had not fully occurred to her until now. Things were different in her culture; you had your immediate relatives, parents and siblings, but your entire clan was your family. For humans, for Cullen, his siblings were now her siblings too. His parents would be her surrogate parents. At least, this is what she understood. Vex had taken it upon herself to talk to Dorian and Cassandra about human families and what she could expect. Was she supposed to address his siblings as sister and brother? By name? Was there a certain way to greet them? She felt extremely Dalish at that moment.

“Am I going to have to carry you the rest of the way?”

“Perhaps,” Vex smiled, hoping to conceal the nerves, but she knew it wasn’t working. His hand slid down and his strong fingers wrapped around the curve of her waist. Vex moved to cover his hand with hers, but merely moved her half-arm back a little. Her face flushed, the strange embarrassment she always felt when she tried to use the missing hand. Someday, she would remember that her left hand was no longer a member of her body.

She had mourned her hand like a fallen friend. It seemed almost humorous to say, and she did say it in order to ease the tension of the situation surrounding her amputation, but she had known it all her life. Vex had good memories attached to that arm, hand, and fingers. Sometimes she swore she could feel the air brush against the skin of her forearm or a cramp in her fingers, but it was only a ghost.

“Ah!” Vex cried out in surprise as Cullen swept her up into his arms and started to walk towards the far off homestead. His mouth was curled in an amused smile, the scar on his lip was white and prominent. Vex wrapped her arm around his neck and kissed his scar. It was ridiculous that he was carrying her through a wheat field towards his sister’s home, but she could tell he was very pleased with himself. The mabari picked up on his owner’s good humor and hopped excitedly, yapping and panting.

“Do you really intend to carry me the entire way?”

“If I must. We cannot be late or Mia will tan my hide.”

Vex giggled at the look on his face, a mixture of amusement and real concern that his sister might skin him if he showed up late. “I can walk, Cullen. I’ve finished with my thoughts for now.”

“Are you sure?” His arms wrapped tighter around her, pressing her body against his chest. He tilted his face so that his scruffy cheek lay on the top of her head. His scent, earthy and like summer, engulfed her and Vex closed her eyes in contentment.

She let him carry her a little while longer.

***

They were cresting the final hill, Pup barking happily at the sound of a child’s laughter carried on the wind. There had been children at Skyhold, but their laughter was always hesitant. They were so used to being told to stay quiet else some raider or monster find them as they hid in their village or caravan that they forgot how to really laugh and squeal as children should. It was pleasant to Vex’s ears, even if it was a little sad.

Pup reached the boy who immediately threw his little arms around the dog’s thick neck. Mabari hounds were bred for war and intimidation, but they were also uncommonly smart -- smarter than some people Vex had been told. However, intimidating was not the word that Vex would use to describe Pup. Slobbery kisses and happy chuffs was all that composed the large, wriggling dog right at this moment.

A woman with a cascade of curly hair as gold as the wheat all around exited the homestead, her voice ringing out to the boy. There was a familiar tone to it, even if Vex couldn’t make out the exact words. This must be one of Cullen’s sisters. But which? The boy tugged at the dog’s ear and the woman scolded him about being polite to animals.

 _Ah, that must be Mia,_ Vex thought to herself with a wry smile. The stories Cullen told about his sister made Vex think of a statuesque warrior devoid of fear with a sharp wit to match the edge of her blade. Already Vex could tell Mia was all she had expected only without the armor and sword.

“Are you ready?” Cullen’s hand laced with hers. She looked up at him, their gazes touching like two natural forces that swirled together in a maelstrom of happiness and love.

“Yes,” Vex nodded, her pale blond hair glinting in the setting sun.

Mia caught sight of them and raised her long arm in a sweeping wave. She was easily as tall as Cullen from what Vex could measure. The door to the homestead swung open again and another blond woman exited. This must be Rosalie, Cullen’s youngest sibling. She was a smaller version of Mia and as they walked closer, Vex could see that she had kind, brown eyes and a wide, impish smile.

“It’s about time you got here!” Mia’s voice was stern but her beaming smile betrayed her tone. She laughed richly, a familiar melody in the sound, as she embraced her brother.

“At least he showed at all, Mia.” Rosalie’s voice was much softer but had a sarcastic quality of someone who was usually the smartest person in the room and knew it.

“Come now, give me some credit,” Cullen hugged his younger sister, lifting her off the ground in what seemed to be a traditional practice due to her exasperated sigh at the gesture.

“Cullen, are you going to introduce us?” Mia crossed her arms and glowered at her brother, tossing Vex a sly wink.

“Oh!” Cullen set down his sister who was slapping his shoulder. He strode back to Vex’s side, looking down into her violet eyes. There it was again, the fluttering in her stomach. The catch in her breath and quickening of her heartbeat. His hand held hers, warm and rough. She was starting to wonder if he had forgotten the introduction and was as lost in her as she was becoming lost in him.

“Ahem?” Rosalie cleared her throat.

Cullen broke away from Vex’s gaze, and straightened his stance as if he were introducing an important guest to Empress of Orlais. “Mia, Rosalie, this is Avexan – Vex,” his amber eyes reconnected their gaze, “my wife.” There it was, the little tremor in his tone.

“Oh my,” Mia’s voice was thin with surprise. Vex looked up to see Mia covering her mouth. Rosalie’s brow were up high and her face was surprised.

Vex felt her smile fading as she tried to puzzle out why the two women were reacting the way they were. She looked to Cullen for an answer, but it was plain on his face. He was blushing a deep red and rubbing the back of his neck. Vex had a feeling now that she wasn’t the only one who knew how to decipher Cullen’s emotional cues.

It came as somewhat of a lightning strike to Vex when she started to notice Cullen’s patterns. She started seeing the more obvious signs at Haven, how his eyes would shine when he spoke about his hopes for the Inquisition. How he would clench his fists when he discussed the tension between the Templars and mages. It wasn’t until she started seeing them when he wasn’t intending to communicate that she knew her connection to the Commander was something more.

She had been in his office when he was informed of a routine deployment of soldiers in Ferelden, an extremely mundane report. But she heard it in the short reply he gave the messenger -- the notes of homesickness in his straightforward Commander’s tone. It was the underlying harmony of deep concern when he asked for reports on his injured men. It was the almost visual glow of his words when he spoke to Vex or about her. A glow that grew until it was one of the more obvious signs.

Vex broke from her reverie as Mia and Rosalie embraced her at once.

“Welcome,” Rosalie kissed her cheek.

“Yes, welcome,” Mia’s embrace was strong. “Sister.”

***

            “Thank you for the gifts, Vex!” Mia ran her fingers over the lacey knitted shawl that Vex had made for her. “You’ll have to teach me this stitch some time.”

“Would you like another piece, Vex?” Rosalie was also wearing her knitted shawl and held out the berry pie. The piece she just finished had been just the right balance of sweetness, tartness, and flakey crust and Vex could barely finish it. She had not eaten this much since… well she couldn’t recall. Even with the endless feasts at Skyhold, she always kept to more reserved meals. It was merely habit from years of hunting, gathering and rationing with her clan as they traveled.

            “Are you an elf?” the boy, Cullen’s nephew of about four, blurted out.

            “Alan!” Mia scolded the boy whose curiosity outweighed his concern for being impolite.

“It’s all right,” Vex said with a knowing smile. It wasn’t the first time a human child had stared and marveled at her foreign appearance.

            “Did you live in the woods?” Alan’s eyes were wide as his head filled with questions.

            “Yes, with my clan.”

            “What happened to your arm? Do you eat bugs? Do you like dogs? Have you ever seen a dragon? –“

            “Slow down, Alan!” Cullen reappeared with another man in tow. This man had a strong resemblance to Cullen, but was taller and his face was a bit more angular. His smile looked as if it were his everyday expression and hung a bit crookedly. His hair was a darker shade of gold, almost a reddish in the fading sunlight and was pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck. This must be Branson.

            “Father!” Alan, ceased his questions and ran to wrap his arms around Branson’s legs.

            “I hope he wasn’t bothering you too much. He’s a curious one,” Branson’s voice was deeper than Cullen’s and his speech was much more dynamic.

“Oh, no bother,” Vex waved away the concern. “You must be Branson.”

“I am, you must be Vex,” Branson held his arms open, that smile wearing down Vex’s nervousness. She relented and he hugged her tightly, lifting her up as Cullen had done to Rosalie. “I was just thinking that I needed another sister!” He set her down and punched Cullen playfully in the flank. Alan saw the opportunity for rough-housing and leapt at his father who caught him around the waist and held him upside down.

“Take it outside, boys!” Mia held the door open and signaled them out. The three grappling men stumbled outside into the sprawling yard where Pup joined in.

Vex was a bit taken aback; she had never seen Cullen acting so… carefree.

“So, Vex!” Rosalie took a seat at the table across from Vex, offering her a cup of fragrant tea. She accepted, breathing in the warm scent, detecting a hint of lemon, and thinking how well it fit the rustic comfort of the homestead.

“Yes?”

“How in Thedas did you and my brother meet?” She laughed good-naturedly, Mia joining in from behind her.

“Why is it funny?” Vex knew they weren’t laughing at her, and her question seemed to give the sisters pause. She felt her face heat up with embarrassment, worried she had said the wrong time. _It’s been barely a minute,_ she thought, mentally kicking herself.

“Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it,” Rosalie patted Vex’s hand across the table in a gesture of apology. Mia set a cup of tea down on the table and sat next to Vex.

“Well,” Vex saw the moments of their meeting flash across her eyes. The terrifying explosion at the Temple of Sacred ashes, the destruction and death, the demons. The man with the shining armor and standing behind the makeshift war table back at Haven. “We met through the Inquisition

“Of course,” Ros gestured for her to go on. “But how did you _meet_?”

“Oh,” Vex felt her voice seize up in her throat. “I… um.”

“Ros, don’t,” Mia tapped her sister on the arm and shook her head.

“No, it’s alright.” Vex straightened her posture. “I can’t exactly say when it happened, when I started to…”

“Fall in love?” Ros squeaked, resting her face on her hands.

“Yes,” Vex chuckled sheepishly. “It was scary and practically forbidden...”

“Love can be very scary,” Mia agreed solemnly.

“Why forbidden?” Ros questioned, intrigued by the word.

“Relationships with humans are very much frowned upon by my people. Some clans will exile if one of their own… with a human.”

“That’s terrible!” Ros looked like she did not quite believe it.

“It’s true. Luckily my clan is more open about such things.”

“What made you dash tradition and tumble into this forbidden love?” Mia stared, her eyes starry like a young girl about to hear about the greatest love story of her life. The shift from stern sister to romantic was humerous.

“There was a particularly bad fight,” Vex shuddered, “Giant spiders…it was awful and I nearly didn’t make it out alive. When I got back to Skyhold, I simply told him. I had almost lost the chance forever and was not going to squander any more time that could be spent getting to know him better.”

The sisters both looked surprised and impressed at Vex’s bold approach.

“I bet he was a flustered mess,” Ros snickered. Vex’s smirk confirmed her assumption.

The women chatted pleasantly, about the weather, the food, and the loudly laughing men outside. Still, something was nagging at Vex. She recalled the moment she met the sisters and immediately pinned the subject of the poking as the way the sisters reacted when Cullen introduced her. Why had they acted so surprised? At first, Vex thought maybe it was because she was Dalish, but surely Cullen had told them that.

“Vex? You okay?” Mia sounded concerned.

“Yes,” Vex felt the question on her tongue and let it fly. “I wonder -- why did you both act so surprised when Cullen introduced me?”

“Oh!” Both the sisters tried to give an explanation and apologize at the same time.

“It’s just that Cullen has never shown any desire for anything besides being a Templar. Least of all getting married,” Rosalie said this in a way that sounded like she expected Vex to get her meaning. Vex wasn’t quite catching on, however.

“We thought once he was initiated into the Templar order that that would be it for him,” Mia blew on her steaming tea.

“For life, absolutely,” Rosalie nodded.

“Actually he did want a dog, remember Ros?”

“Yes! That nobleman that was stranded in Honnleath during that snowstorm!” Rosalie turned fully to Vex, bursting to tell the story. “It was the worst snow storm we had ever seen!”

“Mind you, we were all of twelve years and less,” Mia interjected, emphasizing the twelve as the oldest sibling would.

“Oh what was his name…? Kendel? Kettle?”

Mia laughed, “His name was not Kettle, Ros.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think I would remember a nobleman named Kettle!” the women laughed and Vex joined in. She was a little lost in the story, but a nobleman with the silly name and Rosalie’s insistence amused her.

Cullen reentered the room with a loud exhale, smoothing his mess of curls set wild from the rough-housing. Vex rather liked the look.

“Are you talking about Ser Kettle?” He asked, his tone innocently curious.

Ros pointed at Cullen, then at Mia. “Ha! I told you so!”

“Cullen, that was not his name,” Mia crossed her arms and glowered at her siblings.

“I’m fairly certain it was,” Cullen nodded slowly to Mia as her took the seat next to her. The look she was giving him would cut glass. He accepted a cup of tea from Ros, who winked at him furtively. It dawned on Vex then that they were teaming up on Mia just for a laugh. Was this the sort of things siblings did?

“As I was saying,” Rosalie stirred a little bit of sugar into her tea as she sat back down across from Vex, “Ser Kettle had this pair of massive mabari dogs.”

“Bigger than Pup?” Vex wondered aloud. She thought Cullen’s dog was enormous.

“Much bigger!” Rosalie’s brown eyes were wide.

“Cullen was so fascinated by the dogs that he offered to help care for them. As if he were tending the royal stables,” Mia’s eyes crinkled as she grinned.

“Wait a moment,” Cullen’s expression went from the smug smile of the prankster to the frown of the pranked. “You’re not going to tell her this story.”

Vex felt like she had just whipped her head around in a circle. How had the sisters decided to turn the tides on Cullen without a word or glance? Another sibling tactic? She was not sure how she felt about this display. Would they do this to her? Should she be on her guard?

 _I am definitely overthinking this,_ Vex told herself. It wasn’t malicious in any way and Cullen was really cute when he was flustered.

“After the nobleman left town, little Cullen was _determined_ to get a dog,” Mia clenched her fist to demonstrate the steeliness of young Cullen’s tenacity.

“Mia, come now.” Cullen spread his hands in a mildly pleading gesture.

“He spent all day preparing a speech to give our parents on why he should get a mabari of his own,” Rosalie’s tone mimicked that of Cullen’s officiating voice. “What was it called again, Cullen?”

Cullen grumbled. “My-bari: Why I Should Have a Dog.”

“He even had the nobleman write him a letter of recommendation!” Mia said as she threw back her head with laughter. Vex wasn’t positive if this was an exaggeration or not -- mostly because she could see a young Cullen doing something exactly like this. Rosalie erupted into laughter along with her sister. Vex wasn’t sure what to do. It _was_ a funny story – very funny. Should she laugh at her husband’s expense? Should she defend him? Should she react at all? Vex felt palpable relief when Cullen joined in the laughter, shaking his head in resignation. She chuckled too, reaching across the table and taking his hand.

“Our parents had to let him down easy, poor brother,” Mia tried to sound regretful.

“You mean YOU had to let me down easy, Mia.” It was Cullen’s turn to cross his arms and glower.

“Ah, yes it was me, wasn’t it?” Mia was wearing the smug pranker grin now.

 “Where was I?” Rosalie tapped her chin with her finger. “Oh yes, Mia had to bring Cullen’s dreams crashing down by telling him that mabaris were only for nobles and he could never have one. He was so sad that he stopped playing Templars.”

“Playing Templars?” Vex inquired.

“Maker’s breath,” Cullen covered his face with his hands. “Can we keep it to one embarrassing childhood story at a time, please?”

“Oh, I suppose,” Mia sighed with mock disappointment.

“We all felt terrible about it,” Rosalie picked the story back up. “So Branson and I went around to the neighbor’s farms asking about any puppies that had been born recently.”

“I helped too!” Mia interrupted.

“You did not,” Rosalie and Cullen said together.

“What did you do, Mia?” Vex said through a laugh.

“She gave me a frog from the rain bucket as a pet instead,” Cullen scoffed.

“You kept Hoppington for quite a while!”

“Hoppington?” Vex was having trouble controlling her giggles.

“Yes, until Lumpy ate him,” Cullen shook his head at the tragedy.

“Who is Lumpy?” Vex felt tears in her eyes. It was all so funny, she couldn’t help herself. Strangely, to her anyway, no one seemed put off by her mirth.

“I’m getting to him! Branson and I had a stroke of luck and found a litter of puppies that were just old enough to leave their mother,” Rosalie rose her voice over the laughter and bickering.

“I suppose it was not a mabari,” Vex asked, guessing if the dog’s moniker was Lumpy that this was the truth.

“Maker, no.” Rosalie waved her hands at the comment. “It was the lumpiest little mutt we’d ever seen. Color of mud, chubby wrinkles on its body and short little legs.”

“Lumpy was very cute,” Mia nodded in agreement, conveying her affections for the dog.

“You had a dog named Lumpy,” Vex did not ask Cullen so much as stating it, feeling the giggles working their way up again.

“You should have seen him! There was nothing else he could be called,” Cullen shrugged.

“Did you like him?” Vex was leaning forward, wiping at her eyes. The still warm vapors of the tea swirling under her nose.

“Cullen pretended like the dog was an insult to his honor,” Rosalie shook her head solemnly. “Like we had given him a mangy possum.”

“I did not.”

Rosalie’s face changed instantly into a mischievous smile. “Yes you did. That is, he acted that way for about an hour. Before we knew it, he was playing Templars with Branson and Lumpy out by the golem as usual.”

“Good! I’m glad there was a happy ending,” Vex beamed at Cullen and he returned the smile. She loved knowing something new about him, even if it was at the expense of his dignity.

“All right, that’s enough stories for tonight,” Cullen rose from the table and came around to stand behind Vex. He leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on the top of Vex’s head and placed a hand on her shoulder. In a swift motion, he lifted her up just enough for him to slip under her and set her back on his lap.

“Oh come now, brother. There is still time for a few more.” Rosalie teased as she set down another piece of pie in front of Cullen and Vex.

Branson entered then, carrying a dozing Alan over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He put a finger to his lips as he went to put his son to bed. Upon returning, he nicked the pie from in front of them and winked. Vex gave him a grateful look.

“What’s this about stories?” Branson cut a piece from the pie and put it in his mouth.

Cullen sighed. “Mia and Ros took it upon themselves to tell the story about the nobleman with the dogs –“

“Ah!” Branson looked straight at Mia, “Ser Kettle!”

Everyone but Mia burst into laughter, including Vex. Mia harrumphed, but couldn’t hide the twitch of her lips.

“Say, Branson,” Cullen turned to his brother with a very deliberate manner, “Should we tell Vex about that time Rosalie and Mia got themselves stranded in the old oak tree?”

“You mean the time that –”

The sisters erupted into protests, Rosalie nearly leaping across the table to put her hand over Branson’s mouth. Mia threatened to pour the boiling kettle water on him. As the three siblings tussled, Cullen squeezed Vex tight, setting his chin on her shoulder. His lips touched her ear and he hummed in contentment.

***

“I know it’s probably not what you’re used to,” Mia handed Cullen the lantern as she unlocked the spare room’s door, “but it does have a lock and the walls are fairly thick.” She winked at Vex who felt her face go scarlet. Cullen shook his head and groaned quietly. Mia chuckled victoriously.

“Thank you, Mia.” Vex surprised herself by embracing Mia, who gladly accepted and reciprocated the embrace.

“Goodnight you two.” Mia gave Cullen a hug as she handed him the key. She hooked the lantern around her wrist and took her leave, a pleased smile still on her lips.

Vex opened the curtains and silvery moonlight flooded into the small room. It was clean and smelled like fresh straw and cedar. The air was chilled and Vex pulled the woolen blanket from the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. Cullen was stacking logs in the gray-bricked fireplace, his breath exhaling in a cloudy plume.

“Did you enjoy your time with your brother and nephew?” Vex’s teeth were wanting to chatter, but she clenched her jaw to stave it off.

Cullen laughed, clacking the flint and tinder over the kindling. “Yes, Branson and Alan are a couple of rough and tumble fellows. But I suspect they were both showing off for you.”

“For me?” Vex walked over and sat next to Cullen on the wooden floor in front of the slowly growing fire.

“I am sure he was,” Cullen pulled her onto his lap, his body heat pleasantly warm against her shivering back. “Branson is an odd sort, really. Loud around strangers and crowds, but reserved around those close to him.” Cullen smirked, his fondness for his little brother twinkling in his eyes.

“You have a wonderful family, Cullen.” Vex relaxed, letting herself mold to his body. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her shoulders to provide further warmth.

“They’re your family too, love.” He kissed her tenderly on the temple. “Remember that.”

“Yes,” Vex looked into the fire. It was starting to crackle and the aroma of the cedar kindling was fragrant and calming. “I’m not used to it is all.”

“You never talk much about your family,” Cullen ran a hand through her pale hair, pinning it behind her ear. “I just know that you were an only child.”

“Yes,” Vex was quiet for a moment. She could almost feel the expression change on his face. As if his aura were shifting.

“Did you not want to talk about it?”

“It’s not that,” Vex turned herself, putting her back to the fire and looping her legs around her husband’s waist. She wanted to see him, to look into his eyes. She wanted to see those subtle glints in his expression, like bit of quartz reflecting in the sun miles away in the distance. A passerby would hardly see it, but someone who knew the vista would catch every elusive glimmer, every miniature reflection of the brightest light in the sky.

“Vex?”

“It’s all… very new to me, Cullen. That’s all.”

He made a sound of understanding. There was a flicker of disappointment in the curve of his lips. Was he disappointed in her? Had she done something? Had she _not_ done something? Vex felt her stomach sinking. Cullen’s hands cupped her face and raised her gaze to meet his. She had not realized that she had been looking away, fidgeting at her pinned left sleeve.

“Vex,” he smiled kindly, “my love. They adore you.”

“They… do?”

“Truly,” he kissed her softly, his hands smoothing her hair and hugging her closer. He stood and carried her, her legs still wrapped around his back, to the small bed.

Vex rested her head on his chest, his heart steady and strong under her ear. He talked a bit more about things Mia and Ros had planned for the next day, but was soon breathing evenly with sleep. Vex raised her head, rested her hand on his chest under her chin and watched his face. He didn’t stir, not at all. He was so content that it washed away all her insecurities and her worries. She believed him; they adored her. His family adored her.

Her family.


End file.
